DALLAS — The ring was the thing for LSU’s Angel Reese.
Reese, named the outstanding player of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament, was not backing down after game-ending gestures directed toward Iowa guard Caitlin Clark.
The junior forward, who scored 15 points in the Tigers’ 102-85 championship game victory against the Hawkeyes on Sunday in Dallas, got social media worked up as she appeared to taunt the Iowa star.
As the clock ticked off its final seconds, Reese waved her hand in front of her face, copying the “you can’t see me” gesture created by wrestler John Cena, Sports Illustrated reported. It is a taunt Clark has used during the tournament and one that the professional wrestler has acknowledged.
ANGEL REESE TO CAITLIN CLARK 😳 pic.twitter.com/2NY0CEzwJ3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 2, 2023
“Even if they could see you … they couldn’t guard you!” Cena tweeted after Iowa defeated Louisville in the Elite Eight.
On Sunday, Reese completed the gesticulating by pointing toward her ring finger, indicating that a ring was imminent, The Associated Press reported.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese told reporters during the postgame news conference. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”
Clark said she did not see Reese’s taunt, Sports Illustrated reported.
“I was just trying to get to the handshake line and shake hands and be grateful that my team was in that position,” Clark told reporters. “All the credit in the world to LSU. They were tremendous. They deserve it. They had a tremendous season.
“(LSU coach) Kim Mulkey coached them so, so well. She’s one of the best basketball coaches of all time, and it shows. She only said really kind things to me in the handshake line, so I’m very grateful of that too.”
Angel Reese following Caitlin Clark around the floor waving her hand in front of her face as she tries to go back to her bench shows just how much class she has. Zero
— Jim Hartnett (@Jimmyhartnett4) April 2, 2023
LSU has zero sportsmanship and it starts with Kim Mulkey
Reese finished this season averaging 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, ESPN reported. She has been a force since transferring to LSU after two seasons at Maryland, adding that her decision to move was an excellent choice.
Reese said she was unfazed with the chatter on Twitter. Some tweeted that she showed a lack of class, while others defended her actions by pointing to Clark’s previous trash talk in other games, according to ESPN.
Angel Reese talks trash. Caitlin Clark talks trash. Hailey Van Lith talks trash. Women talk trash in sports, just like men do.
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) April 2, 2023
And yet, some treat women differently when they do it. Stop with all this criticism about "class." Let players compete and show intensity.
“I feel like I’ve helped grow women’s basketball this year. I’m super happy and excited,” Reese told reporters. “I don’t care about anybody else and what they have to say about me. I don’t care to be All-American. I don’t care to be defensive player of the year, player of the year. The biggest goal is to be a national champion, and that’s what I did.
“That’s what I can just brag on. Twitter can say what Twitter can say. I love reading those comments. I have all the screenshots of what everybody has said about me all season. What are you going to say now?”
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